We have had an influx of orphans since the last post. Busy busy.We lost the juvenile GHO who experienced the brown recluse bite. It was not for lack of trying. A 200 lb person can absorb the bite better than a 2 lb owl. While we were treating the wound the venom was working on his nervous system. Thanks again to all the folks who consulted on this case.

Barred Owl- (Strix varia) We have received 3 of these gorgeous owlsThe first was an auto injury . He was a mature male and had no chance of survival. The second one was recovered from a barbed-wire fence. This was the first case I've seen of an owl with BOTH wings hung in the wire. A lot of bone was exposed in both wings as the tissue was ripped away from his struggling against the wire. Euthanasia was the only option. The third Barred Owl was found on the edge of a state highway after contact with a vehicle. She recovered quickly and has been released.The above picture is a file photo.

Barn Owl-(Tyto Albans)3 young barn owls made their was to us this past Thursday from Laurens Wildlife rescue in Dublin. They are pretty roudy bunch. Remind me of three brothers I know. John, Richie, and Christopher are brothers and like these guys they are all about being boys., but good boys. These Barnies were found under a tarp that was spread across some bales of pine straw. The property owners found them when they removed the tarp. Sounds strange, I agree, but so does Barnies nesting under a bridge. These guys are very young but have mastered the blood curdling Barnie scream and can do it in unison. You won't like it. They have a way to go before I can gladly return them to the wild.We have also received 2 juvenile red shoulder hawks and a juvenile red tail hawk. The Redtail was found in the debris of a tree that was bulldozed. It's was euthanized due to serious injuries. This young male seems to be doing alright. Question- Did bulldozer drivers ever look at a tree before they push it over?? I am sure the parents were making their presence known. The Fuzzy Vulture is progressing nicely. He is a full fledged juvenile Black Vulture and he is mastering all the skills. Their growth and development has always been amazing to me.Several songbird rehabbers have singing a very important message about baby songbirds. The whole thing is confusing to me but is very valid for them. Seems that many folks thing that baby songbirds can be raised to adulthood on bread and milk. As I understand these songbird folks it is very common to receive babies who have been fed this diet. What confuses me is the diet.Folks think about it for just a moment. Milk is produced by mammary glands which are found on mammals.(mammary mammals, see the connection?). Birds are not mammals so they do not have mammary glands( flying would be tough if they did!). Baby birds are not fed milk by their parents because their parents do not have mammary glands. Why do people try to feed them milk and bread? I have had cases where people tried to feed orphan raptors milk and bread. Same story here. Birds don't drink milk.Will have more pictures later....Thanks for your attention, you can have back now.

Warning ! The last picture on this page is very graphic. It's late in orphan and many babies have started to fledge. I was rather surprised when Jim Heard called me with a rescued baby black vulture and a juvenile red shoulder hawk. He rescued them from people who almost made "pets" of them.

He is a very healthy juvenile, think it's a he, and has enough of a wild edge that he should be an easy release.The Owls

Here some updated pictures of the juvy Great Horned Owls, their horns are still fuzzy bumps on their heads. These 3 thought they wanted to be Jeopardy Contestants. I gave the 3 of them all day to spell "IQ". They finally decided to just make faces at the camera.Guess you notice there only 3 of the 4 pictured. The fourth is in a fight for his leg and his life. He has been bitten by a recluse spider, our best guess, and has some serious issues. The following picture is of his 2 days after the bite.

You can see the bite site on the side of his foot. The foot is currently coated with a special formula and wrapped to maintain moisture. Am hopeful about his prognosis but it is going to be a long haul. This is the first time in 25 years I have seen envenomation in a rehabbing raptor.